04-22-2004, 05:16 PM
[#800080][url "http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=19569&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0"]River flow to be raised for June sucker[/url][/#800080]
Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 12:00 AM
Caleb Warnock THE DAILY HERALD [url "http://www.harktheherald.com/print.php?sid=19569"]![[Image: print.gif]](http://www.harktheherald.com/images/global/print.gif)
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Conservation officials will begin artificially raising the flow of the Provo River this week to help the endangered June sucker spawn.
Chris Keleher of the June Sucker Recovery Program said the artificial flows will begin almost immediately and last until about mid-June. [url "http://adserver.harktheherald.com/adclick.php?n=a4616ee2"]![[Image: adview.php?what=zone:27&n=a4616ee2]](http://adserver.harktheherald.com/adview.php?what=zone:27&n=a4616ee2)
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"We'll monitor it, and if the river flow starts to drop as irrigators turn on, we'll adjust the flow to make sure it keeps the June sucker alive with as little water as we need to send down," he said.
In the 1800s, Utah Lake was home to at least six native species of fish, he said. Today, the June sucker and the Utah sucker are the only two remaining. The June sucker occurs naturally nowhere else in the world.
Introduced species dominate Utah Lake, eating the young spawn of the June sucker and Utah sucker, Keleher said. After eight years of study, experts believe Utah Lake has only 450 adult wild June suckers left.
Since 1994, more than 7,000 hatchery-raised June suckers have been released into Utah Lake, but few or no adult offspring have survived, Keleher said. In 1994, the federal government named the June sucker an endangered species, allowing its habitat to be protected by law.
Soon thereafter, nine water-user groups with interest in Deer Creek Reservoir formed a 40-year, $40 million plan to save the fish, called the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program.
For the past 10 years, officials of the program have purchased the rights to 21,000 acre-feet of water -- equating 6.8 billion gallons. The water is released from Deer Creek and Jordanelle to simulate the way a nondammed river would spike in water flow following the annual spring runoff, Keleher said.
Some of the "June sucker" water is now being used to keep Provo River's water level artificially high to provide a "nursery flow" that will allow the spawn to hatch and get to the lake, he said. At the peak of the release in 2002, more than 800 cubic feet per second flowed from Deer Creek and Jordanelle into Provo River. Last year only 75 cubic feet per second were used, and those low flows will be maintained again this year in order to save water for a larger flow -- more than 700 cubic feet per second -- next year. Larger flows are needed at least every three years in order to turn and clean gravel in the river, which is necessary for healthy spawning habitat.
"We recognize there is a drought, and we take shortages along with the other water users," Keleher said. "We are just going to be looking to supply enough water in the lower Provo River to maintain water quality and make sure we don't have any fish dying."
The recovery program is showing some early signs of success, he said.
"One the of biggest signs of success is that the fish we have stocked from the hatchery have been returning to the spawning run and we do have a success spawning in the river," he said. "But then we have a sort of short circuit, and once the larval fish drift down the river, they disappear. Our belief is that they get eaten by predatory nonnative fish or the habitat is not suitable for them to survive."
Recovery program officials are working on plans to control carp in the lake and restore some habitat areas in order to help the young June suckers survive, Keleher said.
[i]Caleb Warnock can be reached at 344-2543.[/i]This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.
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Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 12:00 AM
Caleb Warnock THE DAILY HERALD [url "http://www.harktheherald.com/print.php?sid=19569"]
[/url] | [url "http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Recommend_Us&file=index&req=FriendSend&sid=19569"][/url] Conservation officials will begin artificially raising the flow of the Provo River this week to help the endangered June sucker spawn.
Chris Keleher of the June Sucker Recovery Program said the artificial flows will begin almost immediately and last until about mid-June. [url "http://adserver.harktheherald.com/adclick.php?n=a4616ee2"]
"We'll monitor it, and if the river flow starts to drop as irrigators turn on, we'll adjust the flow to make sure it keeps the June sucker alive with as little water as we need to send down," he said.
In the 1800s, Utah Lake was home to at least six native species of fish, he said. Today, the June sucker and the Utah sucker are the only two remaining. The June sucker occurs naturally nowhere else in the world.
Introduced species dominate Utah Lake, eating the young spawn of the June sucker and Utah sucker, Keleher said. After eight years of study, experts believe Utah Lake has only 450 adult wild June suckers left.
Since 1994, more than 7,000 hatchery-raised June suckers have been released into Utah Lake, but few or no adult offspring have survived, Keleher said. In 1994, the federal government named the June sucker an endangered species, allowing its habitat to be protected by law.
Soon thereafter, nine water-user groups with interest in Deer Creek Reservoir formed a 40-year, $40 million plan to save the fish, called the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program.
For the past 10 years, officials of the program have purchased the rights to 21,000 acre-feet of water -- equating 6.8 billion gallons. The water is released from Deer Creek and Jordanelle to simulate the way a nondammed river would spike in water flow following the annual spring runoff, Keleher said.
Some of the "June sucker" water is now being used to keep Provo River's water level artificially high to provide a "nursery flow" that will allow the spawn to hatch and get to the lake, he said. At the peak of the release in 2002, more than 800 cubic feet per second flowed from Deer Creek and Jordanelle into Provo River. Last year only 75 cubic feet per second were used, and those low flows will be maintained again this year in order to save water for a larger flow -- more than 700 cubic feet per second -- next year. Larger flows are needed at least every three years in order to turn and clean gravel in the river, which is necessary for healthy spawning habitat.
"We recognize there is a drought, and we take shortages along with the other water users," Keleher said. "We are just going to be looking to supply enough water in the lower Provo River to maintain water quality and make sure we don't have any fish dying."
The recovery program is showing some early signs of success, he said.
"One the of biggest signs of success is that the fish we have stocked from the hatchery have been returning to the spawning run and we do have a success spawning in the river," he said. "But then we have a sort of short circuit, and once the larval fish drift down the river, they disappear. Our belief is that they get eaten by predatory nonnative fish or the habitat is not suitable for them to survive."
Recovery program officials are working on plans to control carp in the lake and restore some habitat areas in order to help the young June suckers survive, Keleher said.
[i]Caleb Warnock can be reached at 344-2543.[/i]This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.
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][cool][angelic][crazy][shocked][laugh][unimpressed][sly]You're right fishluvr! I can't believe I even made a statement like that!!!! Come to think of it, our legislators, congressmen and women, governors, etc. etc. are doing such a great job at spending our money they all oughtta get a big fat raise while we're at it! [